April 2020 - Soccer Wiretap

The return of the Bundesliga has been delayed by the German government.

The Bundesliga hoped to return on May 9th. There is still optimism that the Bundesliga will return in May.

"The DFL of course accepts that today no decision was made on the resumption of Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2," the German Football League said in a statement on Twitter, adding that the league and clubs will continue their preparations for restart of the season in May.

FIFA's medical committee chairman Michel D'Hooghe says he believes soccer shouldn't resume until at least September due to COVID-19.

D'Hooghe described the pandemic as the "most dramatic situation we have lived in since the Second World War."

Asked if he would recommend football not returning before September, he said, "That is my personal opinion. The world is not ready for competitive football. I hope this can change very quickly, and I sincerely hope it, but it's not the case today. Today, you need more patience."

"Football remains always a contact sport, and one of the first things that everybody says is that you should avoid contact for the moment," D'Hooghe added. "So football can only be possible if contacts can be possible again."

UEFA has given European domestic leagues a deadline of May 25th for how they can compete their season.

Arsenal's first-team players returned to their London Colney training base for the first time since COVID-19 suspended the season. The "vast majority" of the squad took up a voluntary offer to use the club's private space. Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette were amongst the players to use the facilities.

The move is designed to enable players to maintain their fitness without resorting to using public parks, where it would be more difficult to stay isolated with fans asking for photographs.

Arsenal are the first Premier League club to reopen their training facilities, having been the earliest into lockdown when Mikel Arteta tested positive for COVID-19 on March 12.

Bayern Munich are linked with summer moves for Timo Werner and Leroy Sane as they look to upgrade their squad with international talent.

The German club are looking to add two players this summer.

"We want to strengthen ourselves with a top talent from Europe and also bring an international star to Munich, who enhances the quality of our team and helps the team to offer our spectators strong and attractive football," said sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic.

Bayern currently top the Bundesliga table, with the league reportedly close to resuming in May.